The Amarimono
by Suna-Scribbles
Summary: “Experiment LIZ, Remnant LIZ” Another remnant? “Big Brother… Cloud Strife” What side is she on? “We have completely different views, we are nothing alike” How will she survive when she’s already made enemies with the three people who are her siblings?
1. Chapter One

Koinu: I couldn't resist. Just couldn't. -lol-

Well, you guys know the drill. I don't own Advent Children or any of its characters. I only own my origional character, whose name will be revealed shortly.

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**The Amarimono**

**_Chapter one_**

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Finally… Edge…

After all her searching, all her wasted time, she was finally here. From what she had heard, Big Brother was here as well.

_Big Brother… Cloud Strife… I haven't seen him in years…_

She chuckled at that thought. She hadn't seen anything in years… Bandages covered her eyes, rendering her sightless, but it was better that way. Without sight she was able to use some of the abilities that had been bestowed to her.

Blond hair blew slightly in the wind that wrapped around her, but the shoulder length strands were not that color naturally. No, and the coloring had been dyed in long ago, now a somewhat different color was showing through, taking control at the roots and even claiming a few locks. Silver. One precious metal was exchanging for another, gold giving way to silver, silver taking the place of gold. And behind those bandages that hid her eyes? Yes, you guessed it, mako green irises lay behind that blindfold.

And these characteristics could belong to no being other than a Remnant.

She frowned, the leather of her attire creaking slightly as she leaned back as far as she could whilst still straddling the body of the motorcycle she had ridden here. Yes, it was possible for her, though blinded, to ride a motorcycle.

She had always looked up to _Him_, always wanted to grow up to be just like that nightmare of a man, Sephiroth. And so, the dear professor Hojo, oh how the female remnant cursed his name, had made her just like him… or as much like him as he could make a human. But now the professor was dead, or so she had heard, and she was free of ShinRa's grasps.

She sighed, and pulled back the right sleeve of her jacket, wincing slightly as her hand brushed against a spot of her Geostigma. But she ignored the pain, as she had for all these years, and instead ran her fingers lightly over the raised symbols on her wrist.

_L…I…Z… _The fist three letters, all in capitals. They had once stood for something only Hojo had understood, but had since then become her first name. Liz.

Then the rest. Nothing but a single word, but something that marked her for what she was. _Amarimono…_ The word meant 'remnant' and that was exactly what she was. Together the two engravings had become the name she called herself by- Liz Amarimono.

She had escaped about the same time the ShinRa building had collapsed. And she had survived. It wasn't so remarkable, really. She was a remnant; the physical rules of the normal humans no longer applied to her. Hojo had said she was above them, but was she really?

She sighed, eyes flickering about behind the bandages that kept her sightless. She didn't see things in the normal sense, as in her eyes actually sending visual images to her brain. Instead, she had been made so that she could 'sense' things, feel where they were around her. And auras… she could see the aura's of others, allowing her to identify people, classifying them. If someone had Geostigma, then she could see it in their aura, if they were male, or female, drunk, or sober, happy, or sad. Feelings and health, even a state of mind would affect the aura of a human, or in some cases, a non-human. Once, long ago, she had seen, though briefly, the aura of something that was at one time human, but now had demons residing within it. And now… now she feeling a different type of aura…

One like hers.

Or, three that were like hers. But they were full remnants, not halflings like herself. And yes, there were three of them. Three little remnants of a nightmare, chasing after something Liz had thought was dead long ago…

Her head spun around, and her upper body turned as well, so that her sightless gaze could see more. She put a hand on the handles of her motorcycle, to steady herself. It was them again…

No. It hadn't been the auras of the remnant's that had caused Liz to react so quickly. It was someone else's… It was Cloud's…

"Big Brother…" She had already uttered the words before she had realized that she had spoken. But it had been quiet… had she even heard her own voice?

They knew he was there, she could feel it. But she did nothing. It had been years since she had seen Cloud… would he even recognize her? Or would he see her as a threat, just another remnant that would do anything to find Jenova?

It was true though. Mother's voice was loud in her mind, her pull towards Reunion strong. It took all Liz had to keep from giving in to it. If it was like that for her, a half remnant, then what was it like for them?

Was that why they were so ruthless?

Could they feel her presence? Were they able to tell she was there? Liz doubted that they could actually see her. But she could see them.

She could sense every excruciating detail of the small battle being fought between the two eldest remnants and Cloud; she even winced that the younger of the two was able to get in a shot that clipped Cloud's forehead.

But she was frozen in place, unable to do anything. Her own gun lay at her side, and two dagger like sai rested in their sheaths on her back, but she still did nothing.

_We would still be outnumbered… She reasoned with herself. And that's if Cloud accepts my help at all…_

But then she became conscious of the fact that she had allowed her mind to stray from the battle. Her head snapping back up, she realized the fight was long over. Cloud had left… but not the remnants. She took a look over her shoulder, and there they were- three remnant auras coming right at her.

_So they did notice me…_ Liz cursed inwardly, and revved her motorcycle to life. It obliged, its wheels spinning uselessly in the loose dirt before taking hold and finally moving forward.

But it was too late. Even as her own bike took off over the edge of the cliff, they were overtaking her. Behind the bandages her eyes were darting about, trying to recognize the ones closest to her. The eldest of them, he was on her left and bit ahead. He would be the one to cut her off. And the second oldest, the middle child among them, he was on her right, but slightly behind. He would box her in, making escape impossible. And the youngest, the leader, he would fill in, take her down if she tried to run, that's why he lagged in such a way.

_They thought this out… did I really give them that much time? Or do they just naturally work well together, interpreting what the others are doing and responding in the best possible way?_

They were on the flats now, and Liz revved the engine again, trying to pour on the speed. But then that half remnant had an idea. She cut her velocity, and then made a hard left, cutting behind the eldest remnant. Loz… that was his name, now that she was thinking about it she actually remembered. And the middle child was Yazoo, leaving the youngest as Kadaj…

But they reacted too fast. Yazoo had drawn his gun and was firing. She didn't even have to look to tell he was at point blank range, the ringing in her ears told her that. So he had stayed with her after all, was now matching her pace, staying directly to her right.

He maneuvered around her, so he was now on her direct left. And again the bullets came, just barely missing her. Was Yazoo missing on purpose? All Liz knew was that now he was forcing her to swerve back onto the road they had had her on before.

Again Yazoo moved to her left, but she was paying so much attention to him that she didn't sense Loz's presence until it was too late. They were headed right at each other, but he had it all planned out.

Liz tuned her bike sideways to avoid a head-on collision, and it skidded, loosing momentum quickly. And Yazoo and Loz did the same, boxing her in. Upon impact, the engine of her motorcycle promptly died.

_Stupid piece of crap…_

She had to run, Liz knew that. She could hear their chuckles as Kadaj drew nearer, his own bike stopping as he dismounted. But she couldn't. They way that they had trapped her, Yazoo and Loz had, knowingly or unknowingly, pinned her legs against the body of their motorcycles and hers. She was effectively ensnared.

_I could shoot them._ The thought came to her suddenly, and she mentally slapped herself for not thinking of it before. But, even as she reached for her firearm, Yazoo saw her movement and snatched it away from her.

"Now, now… don't want you hurting yourself…" Yazoo cooed. Liz could tell he was holding gun right in front of her, but still out of arms reach.

"Yeah, that would be bad." Loz laughed. Footsteps closing in, and the light laughter of a young man announced Kadaj's approach. It was now or never…

She moved fast, probably too fast. Within the timeline of a split second, she had reached behind her, drawn one of her sai from its sheath on her back, and had it pressed against the exposed skin of Loz's neck. But he only chuckled.

All at once she felt a hand on her back, and then a stabbing pain accompanied by a burning jolt of electricity in her chest. The was Loz's weapon… Duel Hound… Liz had nowhere to recoil from the blow, Yazoo's hand on her back was strong enough to keep her in place, so she took the full brunt of it. Her breath was forced out of her, and she could taste some of her own blood on her tongue, the metallic tang blocking everything else out.

But she took that blood, and used it. She concentrated on it, while biting down on her tongue to keep from crying out any further than she already had. Somewhere in her mind she registered the fact that her sai had fallen from her hand, dropping to the ground with clang as it clattered against the rocky soil. She also found that her body had gone completely limp, though she stayed upright.

"Damnit…" Once again she spoke before she realized she had said anything at all. She would have to work on that. But by opening her mouth she had let a trickle of blood escape, and it was now running down her lip. She swallowed, and more blood went down her throat than she had expected. She must have sliced her tongue when she was biting it.

"Well, well, well… what have we got here?" Kadaj's voice sounded amused. She could almost picture him pacing in front of her, and her mental image was probably close to the real one. "Another remnant… someone like us?"

"I'm nothing like you." Liz muttered. The pain was subsiding, and she found her voice was growing in volume and strength. No more words that were barely audible to even herself.

"What…" Kadaj bent down before her, one gloved hand gently moving towards the bandages over her eyes, "don't you want to find mother too?" He grasped the fabric and pulled.

The bandages fell away easily, surprisingly so, in fact. It had taken Kadaj barely any effort to pull them away. As the once blindfold fluttered to the ground to lay uselessly in the dirt, Liz's mako colored eyes reacted violently with the sudden light. Her elongated pupils expanded and contracted at an alarming rate, trying to adjust to the first light they had seen in ages. She hissed in reaction, bringing up a hand to shield them.

Slowly, her vision went from blurred shapes and colors, to fuzzy images, to finally being normal, her restored vision eating up every detail before it, to be stored in her mind until she concluded that the memory was worthless and disposed of in. She brought her hand down, letting it rest limply at her side.

She took it Kadaj was the one directly in front of her. Now she knew why they were called remnants of Sephiroth, they shared many of the same characteristics. Same colored eyes, same colored hair, although Kadaj and his brothers were undoubtedly younger.

All of her observations took only a few seconds, and she noted how each of them were different while she stored the images of their faces in the archives of her mind, never to be forgotten.

Liz almost chuckled, as she looked Kadaj straight in the eye. "Mother is dead." She said it with no emotion at all, none to distort her features, none of alter her tone of voice.

All three of the male remnants growled, as if stricken by her words.

"Don't talk about mother that way." Yazoo snapped.

"Yeah, you big meanie!" She could tell from Loz's trembling voice that he was close to tears.

Liz thought for a second, planning her next verbal strike. Her head turned slightly in Loz's direction, and she peered at him out of the corner of her eye. "Don't cry Loz…" She had heard his brothers use that exact line with him, knew how much he hated it. He knew that the oldest shouldn't cry, that was the job of the youngest, but here he was, the crybaby, while Kadaj was the leader.

Loz immediately shut up, but instead of taking the blow, as he did with his brothers, he quickly backhanded her across the face. But the blow had been expected, Liz had known it was coming even before she chose to speak. How else would Loz react?

"Careful Loz, don't hurt her." Yazoo said evenly. In the background Liz could hear Kadaj agreeing. But she didn't care.

Spinning around, Liz clutched her left hand into a fist, planning on striking Yazoo at least in the chin. But he easily tilted away from the blow, as if it were simple child's play. With a chuckle, he brought up his left hand, which still clutched Velvet Nightmare, and in the span of a second had the barrel of the gun against her neck, angled up so that if he pulled the trigger it would cause the bullet to go straight through her brain. Instant death.

Liz gulped, but laughed. It was a hollow sound, as if forced. "Go ahead, pull the trigger. The Lifestream is probably way better than this hellhole anyway." But she could see it in Yazoo's eyes. He wouldn't pull the trigger, wouldn't end her life just yet. It had been but a reaction, nothing more, nothing less.

Slowly, Yazoo lowered the gun from its deadly position. Out of the corner of her eye, Liz saw Kadaj nod to Loz. A signal.

And then, just as before except for this time it was in her back, she felt the stab of pain, the agonizing shock wave of electricity that momentarily passed though her.

And then… nothing. Consciousness fled her too quickly for her to feel Yazoo's careful arms as he caught her, for her to hear Loz's confused murmurs, to sense Kadaj's slight unease. No. The comforting nothingness of unconscious oblivion claimed her far too swiftly for her to notice anything other than the pain.

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Koinu: So there's chapter one. Review please! Thank you! 


	2. Chapter Two

Koinu: Okays. Update time! -smiles- man I love this story, really, I do! Its so much fun! Well, enough about how much I like to write. Timefor you to read the chapter people!**

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**

The Amarimono

**_Chapter Two_**

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Liz's body ached all over- Loz's hadn't held back when he attacked her the second time. But it wasn't the pain that awoke her, no, she simply… awoke. She didn't sit up suddenly, gasping for breath, or even open her eyes. Her mind just started registering things again, for the most part.

She tried to move, to sit up maybe a little, but in return for her attempt at movement her body was wracked with more pain. She cried out, unable to stop herself, but her throat was dry and she barely made any sound at all.

Almost immediately after her small outburst, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, pushing her back almost sympathetically. Pressing down on her bare shoulder.

_My jacket! _She sat up again, ignoring the burst of pain and the hand that tried to stop her. Her jacket was the only thing hiding her Geostigma from the world.

"Your going to hurt yourself…" Yazoo's calm voice broke through her panic, and Liz allowed him to carefully push her so that she was once again leaning back. She winced as a rough surface brushed against the stigma that she had on her back. But she tried her best to ignore it.

She opened her eyes, yet closed them again, shutting out the suddenly light. It was bright out there, too bright. But why was that? From her glimpse of the sky she had seen that it was dark. It was night.

She heard Yazoo's quiet chuckled, and open her eyes again, but slowly this time, yet the elongated pupils of her eyes still became small slits. As soon as she could do so without her eyes being in pain, Liz looked around, ignoring the face right in front of her. Oh, so it was the trees, which were glowing with a white radiance, that made it as bright as day even at this time of night.

And she was positioned so that she was sitting with her back to one of the trees. Very clever of them, putting her in a position where she would be cornered even if she stood.

She turned her attention back to the person before her, and was startled to find that it was Kadaj. Yazoo was on her right, carefully examining her sai, while Loz was standing on her left.

A pang of fear went though her. She was surrounded.

Her fear must have shown, because Loz took a step away from her and his stance relaxed. He was showing her he wasn't a threat. "It's okay, we're not going to hurt you…"

Yazoo nodded in agreement. "Your Geostigma is bad… how long have you had it?" A change of subject, to distract her and make her calm down a little.

Liz took a deep breath to steady herself, but only replied to his question with a shrug. "Don't know really know, don't really care. There's no cure, so I don't give a rat's ass about it. Which means the rat gets to keep his ass." She laughed dryly at her own joke, and she heard the other three join in.

But suddenly, Kadaj's hand was on her wrist. He pulled her arm towards him. She winced, and tried to pull away, though she was weak.

"I won't hurt you… not on purpose." Kadaj said softly… sincerely. Liz stopped fighting him, and he pulled at her arm again, twisting it slightly so he could better see her infected skin. He traced a gloved hand lightly over her Geostigma, until he reached her wrist. "What is this…?" He turned it over, so the tattoos were clearly visible.

This time Liz snatched her hand back, using her other hand as well. She clutched it to her chest, her left hand covering the markings.

Kadaj frowned. Straightening from his previously stooped position, he tried to keep himself from becoming angered at the girl in front of him. She was helpless, and scared. "I already saw what it said. L-I-Z, and then Amarimono." He narrowed his eyes. "Just who are you?"

Liz didn't meet Kadaj's gaze, didn't look at any of them. "I'm Liz… Liz Amarimono…"

Kadaj shook his head. "That's what it says on your wrist. I want to know what your real name is."

Liz's shoulder's slumped, and her head fell to her chest. "That's what I call myself… It's what I've always been called... I don't even know if I ever had a real name…" She felt a tear slide down her cheek.

Loz came over to her and kneeled down at her side. "Don't cry…" He whispered, gently wiping the tear away from her face.

Liz chuckled slightly. "Yeah, cause that's your job…" She could hear Kadaj and Yazoo laugh lightly, and even Loz laughed nervously.

Instead of getting angry he just brushed it off. "Exactly."

Liz smiled slightly, closing her eyes and leaning back to rest her head on the tree. The pain was still there, but it was lessening now. She breathed deeply, and everyone was silent for a long time.

Finally, it was Yazoo broke the stillness. He took one of Liz's sai, examining it closely. "What's the point of these things? Once you get in close enough to use them, you might as well just use hand to hand combat."

Liz cracked one eye open to look at him. "I have my ways. Now can I have those back please?"

"No." He answered bluntly.

She opened both eyes and turned so she was facing him. "And why not?"

"Because we don't trust you."

Liz blinked a few times. "Well, I don't trust any of you… so I guess we're even…" She sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them. "But I'm still weaponless, outnumbered, and probably outclassed by every one of you."

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Kadaj said with a laugh.

Liz looked up for a second, momentarily locking eyes with the young remnant. He had to be her elder by a good two years, if not more. "Is it still considered flattery if it's the truth?"

All three of them were silent for a moment. But then Kadaj burst out laughing. "This is getting us nowhere! We're sitting here, waiting for you to do something, and you're waiting for us to do something." He folded his arms over his chest. "You're pretty much our sister, so…"

"So what?" Liz suddenly snapped. "We have completely different views, we are nothing alike…"

Loz suddenly pulled her to her feet. She barely came up to his shoulder. "Just because we're different doesn't mean we have to be enemies."

"Yes." Yazoo stood on her other side. "You're still our sister, even if you are different. In fact, I don't see how I could be any more different from my brothers, but we are still family."

"But if you wanted…" Kadaj stood directly before her. "We could be your enemy."

Liz shook her head, almost sadly. Strands of her silver hair fell in her face, but she made no move to get rid of them. "I'm sorry…" She mumbled. "I've never had a family before… and I've never been close to anyone…" Her legs gave way, but Kadaj seemed to have been expecting it, seeing as he caught her gently in his arms. Tears once again escaped Liz's mako colored eyes, and she sobbed quietly into Kadaj's chest. "I don't know if I can be your sister, but I don't want to be your enemy…"

Kadaj gently lowered her to the ground. How did he react to this? What could he say to stop her tears? "Its okay… you don't have to be either…"

Liz closed her eyes, and her breathing became even. "Thank you nii-san…" She mumbled before sleep claimed her. "Thank you…"

Nii-san… she had called him her big brother. Kadaj was filled with an emotion he hadn't ever felt before. Was it pride? Or maybe love? Did he love this girl the way he loved his brothers? And he found that the answer was yes. He hadn't meant to have feelings for her, but it had happened. Maybe mother had willed it…

He looked to his brothers, and saw that they were gazing at her in a similar way.

"She's right though… she is nothing like us." Yazoo's nimble fingers gently brushed away some of the silver strands obscuring her face.

Loz sighed. "She fell apart when you started talking about family…" He gently took Liz's wrist, turning it so he could see the markings. "Her past must have been pretty bad."

Kadaj nodded. "Yeah…"

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When Liz awoke again, it was daylight. She rolled over onto her back, and found that her jacket had been draped over her. She threw it off, sitting up and rubbing her temples. She took a single look around, and spotted Yazoo sitting with his back to a tree not too far from her.

"Morning…" She yawned, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Where's-"

"Kadaj and Loz went to take care of some business. I'm going to leave as soon as one of them returns." Yazoo interrupted before she even got the chance to voice her question.

"Oh…" Liz laid back down, gazing up at the sky. "So your on watch-the-girl duty, eh?"

Yazoo got up and strode over to her, choosing to stand at her head so that she was forced to look up at him. "You could say that."

Liz smiled slightly. "Oh, so you want to be here with me?"

"Someone has to keep you from doing something stupid." Yazoo chuckled.

Liz gave him a withering look. "Thanks…" Sarcasm dripped from her voice.

"Your welcome." Yazoo turned and walked off.

Liz sat up and looked around once more. Yazoo wasn't in sight.

_Probably went to check something else…_

The half remnant stood, and took a good look around, memorizing the layout of the area. She had never been here before… A short distance away from her was a small body of water. She stretched, and felt some dried blood crack and fall away from her back.

_I…need a bath…_ Liz came to the conclusion quickly. She made her way to the pond swiftly, and hid behind a tree as she stripped down completely. She laid her clothes out on the ground neatly before jumping into the cold water.

The water's freezing temperature woke her up immediately, and she gasped as she resurfaced, though quietly. She swam around for a few moments before nearing the shore again. The bank stopped abruptly, so it was deep even on the edge. No slowly sloping ground.

Suddenly, she dunked her head under the water. She got close to the bottom of the pool, and held herself there, counting out the moments she was under.

_43…44…45…_

Without warning, a hand reached down, gripping her own wrist tightly. With a sharp movement it pulled her up.

"Hey!" She gasped and pulled her wrist away as soon as she had broken the surface. She submerged herself again, the water coming up to her shoulders.

"What were you doing?" An angry Yazoo glared down at her. "Trying to drown yourself?"

Liz scoffed. "Why would I do that when it would be so much easier to just piss one of you guys off?" She rolled over and started to swim away, her back facing him.

Yazoo stared down at her, observing her Geostigma. It was worse than they had thought. Instead of just running along her arms, it also covered the majority of her back, and even made its way down to her right thigh.

He frowned, and reached down suddenly again, grasping both of Liz's arms and pulling her out of the water, ignoring her complaints. "We need to bandage this." He said flatly, with no room for argument. Pushing down on her shoulders, he made her sit on the ground while he went and got a first aid kit.

Liz sat obligingly, but had her arms crossed over her chest. A show of defiance. "I've dealt with it so far by myself…"

Yazoo returned with the kit, sitting behind her. "Yes, but…" He traced his fingers over a tendril of the stigma that was going up her neck. "This is one of the worst cases I have seen…"

Liz's sharp intake of breath and how she recoiled away from even his lightest tough told Yazoo everything he needed to know. With a few deft movements, he used some rubbing alcohol to cleanse the infected areas. Liz winced again.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I don't mean to cause you pain."

"It's okay…" She winced again as Yazoo began his bandaging. "It's all for the best…"

Yazoo nodded as he slowly and meticulously covered the black spots with clean, white bandages. Liz only cried out once when he accidentally put too much pressure on a particularly bad spot on her lower back, but other than that she was quiet.

"There, I'm done." Yazoo tied the bandages in place and stood up.

"Thank you…" Liz mumbled her gratitude while reaching over and grabbing her shirt. Carefully, she pulled it on over her head, letting it settle over the bandages that were more like a second skin. Yazoo turned his back, allowing her to dress in peace.

_Maybe they aren't all bad…_ Liz placed a light hand on his shoulder. "Really, thank you. I don't think anyone has done something that thoughtful for me in a long, long time…"

"Maybe you just don't let people get close enough to help…" Yazoo voiced quietly. He felt Liz's hand withdraw from his shoulder. He must have spoken the truth.

He sighed, looking at her over his shoulder. She seemed to be a completely different person than the one they had cornered outside of Edge. That girl had been full of fight, with quick reactions, even if she did make some stupid mistakes. But this girl… it was as if she were a mere child, forced to grow up too quickly.

Yazoo shook his head. What was he thinking? "I better check up on Loz." He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and pressed a few buttons before putting it to his ear.

Liz peered at him. He had been so kind… but his last words had stung… _It's because it's the truth…That's the exact reason why no one ever helps me…Because I don't let them… _

But why had he changed the subject so quickly? Had she done something that made him uncomfortable? Or had he, in his process of helping her, almost forgotten about checking in on his brother? She sighed. Either way, it was still her fault that he was acting this way.

Finally, after the third or forth ring, Loz picked up his phone. Yazoo almost sighed with relief. "Hello Loz. Did you find her?" A pause while Loz responded. Yazoo's brow furrowed; that wasn't the news he had been hoping for. This time he did sigh. "Well, you know what to do…" Another pause, then Yazoo flipped the phone closed, stowing it back in his pocket.

"He's alright… right?" Liz inquired. No, that was a stupid question, she had known even as she voiced it. Of course Loz was okay, if he wasn't then Yazoo wouldn't have replied in such a way as he had.

Yazoo merely nodded. "Yeah, he's okay. Now all we have to do is wait for Kadaj."

"What about me?" Kadaj walked calmly towards them, raising an eyebrow after noticing Liz's bandages. He didn't have to speak for Liz to know what the young man was thinking.

Was it really that bad…?

"So…?" Yazoo seemed wary of saying too much in Liz's presence.

Kadaj had no such qualms. "They said that they dropped it from the helicopter when they were running from us."

"He's lying." Yazoo said bluntly. "We know they have her."

"Who?" Liz questioned, feeling left out. Already she felt as if Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz were her siblings. It was strange, that she wanted to be part of their plan. "Who has mother?" Her eyes widened in realization of what she had said.

Kadaj turned to her, tilting his head to one side. "My, aren't you smart?"

Her hands clenched into fists, her knuckles turning white from the strain. "Just tell me…" Her gaze flickered around the area. Her sai were placed close to where Yazoo had been sitting when she had awakened. She could get there before him, right? "Or must I fight you to get the information I want?"

Kadaj laughed, while Yazoo looked at her skeptically. "If you really must know…" Kadaj smiled, and the way he did so made the smirk a sadistic one. "It was Rufus ShinRa."

"ShinRa…" Liz recoiled from the name that still haunted her in her nightmares.

Yazoo frowned. "What, you know him?"

Liz's brow furrowed. She had never really known Rufus… a few meetings with him perhaps, but she didn't know him very well. She sighed. "His father was my creators employer, does that count?"

This time it was Kadaj's turn to frown, and his almost angered scowl unnerved Liz. "Your… creator?" He questioned, his voice low.

Liz waved it off; fake nonchalance to keep Kadaj and Yazoo from seeing how much the subject really upset her. It hurt to delve that far into her past. "The same man who made _him_." She felt it was taboo to mention Sephiroth's name. "But that is old news… it happened long ago. No need to speak of it."

After that they no longer asked anything of her past.

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Koinu: I believe Yazoo may have been slightly OoC, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that. So far there have been no flames for this story! Woo-hoo! Oh well, I wouldn't really mind flames, I think its fun to read how pathetic people like to try and make me feel bad. -laughs- Well, review please! 


	3. Chapter Three

Koinu: Hello everyone. First off, I would like to thank all my reviewrs... all three of them, or was there four...? LOL Anyways, here's another chapter for ya.

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**The Amarimono**

**_Chapter Three_**

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Yazoo had left, but Loz was back now. And he had someone with him. 

The poor girl was close to being traumatized, and Loz's heavy hand kept her in place by his side. Liz couldn't look at her without feeling guilty. Seeing her, so innocent, so helpless, it hurt the half remnant on the inside.

_I made a promise… _She gulped and turned her head from the girl. Marlene was her name, Liz had found. Kadaj was on his way to see what Loz had been able to accomplish. _But, she'll be safer if I don't do anything…_

"Look what Big Brother's been hiding…" Kadaj's voice broke through Liz's thoughts. "Powers forged in the Lifestream… With this Materia, that power will be ours." Her head turned to see Kadaj absorbing a piece of Materia, and her sudden thoughts drowned out any other words he might have said.

The whole chest was full of Materia… what use was it to Cloud? And why was this girl important to him?

_Because she's small, weak, and absolutely adores him… _Liz's lips twitched upwards in a momentary smile _just like me…_

Before Loz's arrival, Kadaj had given Liz his approval, which translated into trust, and had returned to her the sai that were so important to her. The blades now lay safely in their sheaths, where they would stay until she needed them.

But the female halfling had insisted that Yazoo keep her gun. She had said that she was no good with a firearm and that it was her weapon of last resort. It was the truth.

"Liz… Liz…? Liz!"

The half remnant was startled from her own thoughts, and out of pure instinct, drew one of her sai. She heard the gasp of a little girl, and a surprised shout from Loz.

"Hey, watch it!" Loz used his free hand to push the blade away from his neck.

Liz sighed. "Don't startle me like that! Unless you have a death wish or something!" She put the sai back in its sheath, the blade shining in the light from the trees momentarily.

"Startle you?" Loz raised an eyebrow. "You've been staring off into space for a good five minutes!"

_I…Was? _Liz blinked a few times. But then a light whimpering caught her attention. Marlene. "Calm down Loz… I'm sorry, 'kay? But we're scaring the girl."

Loz looked down at Marlene. "And since when do you care?"

_Since I know how it feels to be at the mercy of someone like you three… _But she had a slightly better answer on the tip of her tongue. "Since I don't want to have a crying child on my hands, okay?"

Loz shrugged his shoulders in agreement. "Then why don't you take her for a while."

Liz giggled slightly. "Loz, she hit you in the head with a piece of Materia, how much can that hurt?" Loz's only response was to glower at her. She put her arms up in submission. "Okay, I'll take her off your hands for a while! Jeez…"

As she knelt before Marlene, the girl only shrunk away, hiding behind Loz's leg. Liz sighed, extending her hand to the girl, palm up. "It's okay… I won't hurt you…"

"I think she's attached to me." Loz joked.

Liz glared up at him before turning her full attention back to Marlene. "When faced with a tough decision, always choose the lesser of two evils, right?" She offered her hand again.

Marlene looked from her, to Loz, and then back, before nodding slightly, and hesitantly taking Liz's hand. Immediately, Liz's hand closed around Marlene's considerably smaller one, but gently.

The female remnant smiled as she stood, still grasping the young girl's hand. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

"Hey, if Kadaj finds out-" Loz tried to object.

"Don't worry, we're not going anywhere, and if Kadaj tries to blame you then I'll stop him, 'kay?" And with that she walked off, not giving Loz the chance to argue further.

* * *

"So… You know Cloud?" Marlene was being surprisingly open with Liz.

Liz chuckled, resting her head back against the tree. She was sitting with her back to it, one leg outstretched, while the other was pulled up to her chest with an arm resting on it. Marlene was sitting across from her. "You could say we were old friends… sort of…"

Marlene hit the ground with her open palm. "Then why are you helping these guys?" She asked, childish anger in her voice. "They attacked us, and hurt Tifa!"

_Tifa…? Oh thank Holy she's still alive! _"Marlene…" Liz sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Marlene, Cloud and I haven't seen each other in years. I thought he was dead, and he probably thinks I'm dead. It's all very complicated…"

"So?" The girl was persistent, Liz gave her that. "You could still help him!"

Liz shook her head sadly. "No Marlene, I couldn't… Those three, they're like my brothers, and genetically they almost are… It just wouldn't feel right leaving them…" A slight smile twitched her lips upward for a moment. "And in my gut I feel like Cloud will win anyway, without my help."

* * *

"Mother has given me a very special gift." Marlene was back under Loz's care, and Kadaj was just starting his little 'ceremony'. Liz was perched in a tree behind the horde of children. She didn't want any part in this. 

So far Kadaj had very little of the children's attention. "The power to fight… against a planet that torments humanity." Liz pondered this. Humanity was killing the world, so wasn't it fare that the world strike back a little? She could easily argue either side.

But Kadaj wasn't finished yet. "She gave this gift to all her children. That's right, you and I are brethren. Brothers and sisters chosen when we inherited Mothers Memetic Legacy though the Lifestream." Liz looked at her own hands. And what if this 'gift' was forced upon you by an insane scientist? Did that still count?

But wait, there was more. Liz turned her attention back to Kadaj. "But the planet doesn't approve of that at all. It's doing everything it can to hold us back. That's why it's racking our bodies with pain, and filling our hearts with doubt!" He pointed at each of the children in turn, but not accusingly. Now he had their attention. The way he had used the word 'our'… it had humanized him, made him one of them. Less of the bad guy.

"Now I shall heal you, and we will go to mother together. We will join as a family, and strike back against the planet!" Liz had to shield her eyes from the burst of energy that temporarily engulfed Kadaj.

"Do as I do…"

Liz turned away, jumping from the branches of the tree. She couldn'twatch what would come next… she didn't have the heart, or lack of one, to watch as these children, these innocents, were brain washed. And for what? To help get mother? To help in the recovery of Jenova's _head_?

Liz wasn't going to stop Kadaj's plan, but she also wasn't going to help it along if she could avoid doing so.

So she kept walking away. She planned on returning eventually. And she wouldn't get lost. No, even subconsciously her eyes were seeing the area around her, and her mind storing that information away. No, she wouldn't get lost.

But she might run into other problems…

"Well… look who it is…"

"Experiment L-I-Z… _Remnant_ L-I-Z… It's been too long. Where have you been, cause we've been looking all over."

* * *

Koinu: Dun dun dun... I'll give cookies to anyone who can figure out who the two mysterious speakers are. 


	4. Chapter Four

Koinu: Sorry for the late update. I've been swarmed with school, and I just didn't have the time to actually upload this. Well, late or not, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Oh, and I owe cookies to Zuranh Darok for correctly guessing who the two mysterious speakers from the last chapter were. Although no one was actually named, she did guess their occupation, which is close enough!

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**The Amarimono**

**_Chapter four_**

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Liz's head spun to face the voices that had addressed her. If they already knew that much then this probably wasn't going to end well for her.

"Reno… Rude…" She nodded to each of the Turks in turn, but it was hard to hide the contempt she was feeling.

"We asked you a question." Rude said bluntly, adjusting his sunglasses, although it was night.

"Yeah," Reno shrugged his shoulders. "Where ya' been?"

Liz scowled at the two. "Here and there…"

"We thought you were dead. Squashed flat when the building collapsed."

"Do I look flat to you?" Liz retorted. She didn't even wait for an answer. "Rufus sent you, didn't he?"

Reno sighed. "We weren't expecting to find you exactly, but now that you're here you have two choices. One, you come quietly. Or two, we beat you senseless until you are quiet. Which'll it be?"

Liz rolled her eyes, reaching for one of her sai. "Do you even have to ask?" Suddenly, there was an unexpected pain in her side, and she was sent sprawling on the ground. The halfling rolled over onto her side, coughing. "Guess not…" Rude had been moving before she had even finished, coming in from her blind spot while Reno had her distracted.

Apparently she still had a reputation…

Her arms were twisted painfully behind her back, and she soon felt the cold, unforgiving metal of handcuffs around her wrists. Rude wasn't wasting any time at all, was he? But of course he couldn't. They were two men short, thanks to her brothers.

"Okay then." Reno squatted down in front of her, and Liz had to crane her neck to look at him. Rude was putting far more pressure than necessary on her back, and it hurt immensely because of her Geostigma, but she ignored that. "We can forget about that beating you senseless part if you agree to be quiet." He hit her lightly on the head with his baton. A playful hit.

Liz spat at him. "Go to hell."

Reno growled. "Don't say I didn't warn you." Again he hit her in the head, but with much more force this time. Liz wasn't knocked completely, but it was close. She was limp, and everything became a blur. Even the pain seemed to be fake, as if in a dream.

Maybe that's why her mind didn't register that she was being lifted up, although she knew it was happening. Maybe that was the reason she heard the whir of the helicopter blades above her after she had been loaded in, but never paid them any heed. Maybe that's why she was startled so much when it suddenly registered in her mind that Rude's face was inches from hers.

"I think you hit her too hard Reno." Rude said into a headset he wore.

"Give her another half an hour." Reno's voice was clear in the back of the chopper.

"That's what you said a half hour ago. It's been an hour and she still hasn't shown any sign's of ever waking up."

"Wha…" Liz moaned. Her head hurt, and she didn't remember why. "Who isn't awake…"

"Hah! Half an hour, right on time!" Reno's voice boomed.

Liz would have clapped her hands over her ears, if she could have moved them. Then, slowly, everything came back to her. She slumped to the side, falling from her sitting position to lying on the floor. "Rude… Reno's being mean again… can I shoot him?" She whimpered.

"Hey!"

Rude chuckled. "No Liz, you can't shoot him."

"Why not?" Liz felt like a child again, completely at the mercy of another.

"Because you don't have a gun." Rude's answer was obvious.

"Oh…" She closed her eyes. She felt tired, and there was nothing else to do while she waited for things to unfold. "That makes sense…"

Rude reached behind her and unlocked the handcuffs, pulling them away. Liz's only motion was to bring her arms around her and curl up while she waited for the oblivion of sleep to claim her.

"Just like the old days…" Reno sighed.

"Just pay attention to the chopper, Reno."

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Liz's was jolted awake as the helicopter landed. Her first instinct was to run; yet she remembered where she was decided to stay still. Her breathing remained even, her eyes closed, giving off the illusion that she was still sleeping.

Reno nudged her side with his foot. "Come on, time to get up."

Liz moaned and rolled over onto her other side, facing away from the redheaded Turk. "Piss off Reno."

He laughed lightly and kicked her gently in the back. "The boss ain't gonna be happy if you decide to sleep in the chopper."

"Well your boss can piss off too." Liz mumbled.

Reno shook his head. "If you don't get up, I'll sit here and talk you to death. I know how much you love that."

"You try that and you'll find one of my sai sticking out the back of your neck."

"One problem, your weaponless."

Snapping her eyes open and sitting up quickly, Liz reached behind her. The sheaths that usually held her sai were empty. "Damn you…" She scowled at Reno.

Reno merely shrugged. "Whatever. Now on your feet soldier!"

"I hate you…" Liz grudgingly stood. Reno motioned for her to get out of the chopper, and she obligingly hopped out. Rude was at her side immediately, but the remnant ignored him, instead looking around while they lead her into a building.

Healin Lodge…So this is where they went… 

A strong hand on her shoulder brought Liz to an abrupt halt. She scanned the room. It was bare for the most part. Boring.

"Sir." Reno and Rude chorused together, saluting. Liz folded her arms over her chest indignantly.

"Liz…" A motorized wheelchair rolled into the room. "It's been a long time."

Liz narrowed her eyes. "You remember me? Oh, that make's me feel _so_ special." Heavy sarcasm rolled off her tongue.

Reno elbowed her in the side. "Be respectful." He hissed.

Liz growled at him, then sighed, giving in. "Rufus ShinRa…" Her gaze moved up and down the man, noting how the majority of his body was infected with the Geostigma and covered in a blanket. "Looks like it sucks to be you."

Rufus frowned. "Its seems we are in need of your assistance."

"Not interested. This company has screwed with me enough."

"Please. We know what has happened to you, and we're sorry-"

"Apologize all you want, it won't make a difference."

"Cloud is working for us."

Liz stopped, her comeback dying on her lips. She blinked a few times. "Excuse me?"

"I said, Cloud is working for us."

Liz growled. "How did you rope him into that?"

"He agreed on his own terms. Why, is that so hard to believe?"

Liz turned her head away, as if the floor had suddenly become very interesting. "What do you want me to do…?"

"You know Kadaj, right?"

Liz faked innocence, but not very well. "Who?"

"Don't lie." Rude said emotionlessly from her right side. "It's not worth it."

Liz chuckled dryly. "So what if I know him? He and his brothers are practically my family."

"So they'll be coming for you?" Rufus asked, imitating curiosity.

"No Rufus, they're coming for you." Liz retorted. "And you know that, don't you." When she had said it, Reno and Rude had shifted uncomfortably. "You want a body guard, that's why Rude was so concerned when Reno hit me, you wanted me in top shape to fight them. I'm right, aren't I?"

Even Rufus seemed uncomfortable with her amount of knowledge. "Kadaj-"

"Will rip me to shreds." Liz interrupted. "I'm way outclassed by him."

"If he's really a brother to you," Rufus said, the calm returning to his voice, "then you will be in little or no danger."

Liz sighed. "You may be right, but I still don't know what it is you want from me."

"We know that Kadaj will be coming for me tomorrow, all I want is for someone to make sure he doesn't do anything too… reckless."

"And what do I get in return for this." She could still back out, refuse to help them.

"Freedom." Rufus said simply. "You can leave, no strings attached. No more hiding from us or anyone else for that matter. You can live your life without the constant fear of being caught and becoming an experiment again."

Liz took a deep breath and bit her lower lip. "Tell me one thing…"

"What is it?"

"Is Hojo really dead?

Rufus nodded. "Long gone. You have nothing to fear anymore."

Liz nodded thoughtfully. "I'm in."

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Koinu: Uh-oh... this isn't going to end well. Well, you all know the drill, so review!


	5. Chapter Five

Koinu: Here I am again with another chapter. Just to let you know, this story is going to be ending soon, just a heads up.

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**The Amarimono**

**_Chapter five_**

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Liz followed Kadaj and Rufus silently. Just as instructed. Again she wore a blindfold, and her sai were hidden within the sleeves of her jacket. For easy use. No more reaching behind her to get a weapon.

Her footsteps were well calculated, each footfall keeping her out of sight of her closest brother. She could easily see Rufus's highly infected aura in front of her. Every so often, a spike of fear would run through it. Rufus thought she had abandoned him. But it was Kadaj's aura that's the halfling concentrated on.

So far, the full remnant seemed not to have noticed her. His aura was filled with overconfidence, but there was a small bit of worry tingeing it. Was the worry for her?

But what was he thinking? He was headed to the thirteenth floor of a building that was still under construction. Did he think that would give him the advantage?

She thought about this. Maybe it did… Rufus would have nowhere to go, no where to run…

"Say, Kadaj. I've got a question for you." Liz raised an eyebrow. Rufus hadn't said anything about this.

"And I've got an answer." Kadaj's voice was cocky as he stood on the edge of the floor.

"You said you needed to have Jenova cell's to be whole again. What did you mean by that?" Behind the blindfold Liz's eyes widened. Now she knew what was going on. Rufus was going to sate his own curiosity, while at the same time getting Kadaj to confess to everything. He was trying to turn her against her brother, so she would have no qualms when she had to fight him.

"_Him…_He's coming back."

"Sephiroth, the nightmare."

"So they say." Liz stopped listening there. She kept one ear on the conversation, one eye on their auras. But she became submerged in her own thoughts.

Sephiroth… he was coming back… but at what cost? The way Kadaj was talking about it, the slight apprehension in his voice…

Comprehension dawned, and Liz stifled a gasp. Kadaj was going to become Sephiroth. Happiness filled her. _He_ was going to return. But at the same time a great sadness washed over her. He would be taking Kadaj's place, and if Rufus was right, if history was going to repeat itself…

Then they would both die.

The female remnant choked back a sob. Maybe she could stop all this, end it before it began. If she could stop Kadaj, then perhaps she could she could also stop Cloud. They all referred to Cloud as Big Brother, so there was the possibility that they could live in peace… or at in least tolerance of each other.

Kadaj's aura spiked, and Liz's attention was ripped back to them.

"Sorry?" Rufus was replying to something. "Why, I've never had this much fun."

Kadaj turned to him, a smirk on his lips.

_Oh no… Oh Holy, or whatever god there is, please don't let him do what I think he's going to do…_

"Good…" Kadaj's arm was glowing with power from the Materia that he had absorbed. "Then lets put and end to all this."

"No…" Liz voice came out a harsh whisper. "Not the Behamut…" But it was far too late…

"Liz, now!" Rufus sounded worried; did he think she had left him?

Cursing under breath, she dropped her sai into her hands, and rushed Kadaj.

"What…?" Kadaj's question was more of a startled gasp. The remnant had barely enough time to draw Soba from its sheath to block her blow. "Liz?"

"Please don't be mad…" A tear made its way from under her blindfold to stream down her cheek. She slashed at him again, forcing him back, away from the edge. The last thing she needed was for him to fall.

Kadaj growled. "Why are you doing this?" He dodged away from her blows as they came. "What did he promise you to make you turn on your own family?"

"Freedom…" Liz's voice trembled.

"What?" She could hear the mix of confusion and anger in Kadaj's voice.

"He promised me freedom. The ability to walk the streets without the fear of being followed, every step traced. I can wake up without fearing that I was captured while I slept, I can sleep without being restless…Without nightmares of my past and maybe even future haunting me in my sleep…" She shook her head. "You don't know how that feels because you have your brothers, your all there for each other!" _Oh Holy… What have I gotten myself into? I'm fighting my own brother…_ "But me, I've only had myself! And I can't keep running Kadaj, I can't… And I don't know what will happen to me if you bring _him_ back… please Kadaj, stop this before you get in too deep."

Kadaj caught both her wrists in one hand and with the other pulled away the blindfold. She struggled, wriggling in his grasp, but then stopped. She had never seed that emotion on Kadaj's face before.

Kadaj looked her straight in the eye. "I'm sorry… But I have to make mother happy. You'll see, once we find mother we'll all be happy… we can be a family… But for now, I really am sorry…" There was a burst of pain in the side of her head, and then darkness.

Kadaj gently put Liz's limp body on the ground. Then he stalked over to Rufus, surveying the scene below them. "This is too fun sir!" His voice was full of laughter, but there was a hint of barely controlled malice. "And requests for the next act?" His eyes widened as Rufus stood, throwing the blanket away. A box lay in his hands. "Mother?"

"A good son would have known."

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Koinu: Man... Rufus is such a jerk... oh well. Like I said, there's only one or two more chapter's left, so review!


	6. Chapter Six Last Chapter

Koinu: Sorry it took me so long to update. School's been overwhelming my life for the past few weeks. Now, I'd like to point one thing out. I have thirteen reveiws for this Fic, and though they are all good, thats kinda sad compared to the 494 hits it has. Yeah... so if you could spare a review, that would be good. Thanks.

* * *

**The Amarimono**

**_Chapter Six_**

_And so it ends..._

* * *

She awoke to searing heat and flames. That wasn't right… 

With a gasp Liz sat up. Flames, they were everywhere, but that didn't bother her. How long had she been out? The half remnant literally jumped to her feet, moving swiftly to the edge of the building's floor and peering over. Kadaj was stooped on the ground, a box clutched in his hands. And Rufus, Liz could have laughed at the site, Rufus was caught in a net halfway down.

The roar of a motorcycle caught her attention and her head turned to face it. Her mako colored eyes widened at the site. Cloud. A very angry Cloud…

Within seconds, Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz were on their own bikes, but only Kadaj was in front of Cloud.

"Why are they running…?" Liz whispered. She then chuckled, shaking her head. "They have an angry Cloud on their tail… I would run too if I had an angry Cloud on my tail…"

Another explosion went off next to her, and she cursed loudly. It was time to get out of here. But how… She smirked. If Kadaj could do it, so could she.

She jumped. Her jacket flapped in the wind, and a smile came to her face. She landed on the ground and was amazingly able to stay on her feet. So it was true, the physical rules that applied to the other humans no longer applied to her.

"Liz!" The was a mix of voices and emotions.

The halfling sprinted over to her motorcycle. Her _new_ motorcycle. It had been a present from the ShinRa Company, a reward for her cooperation. It was black, sleek, fast, and small. They said it was a smaller version of the one Cloud owned, without all the 'cool gadgets' as Reno put it. It was the bare minimum, and Liz liked it that way. Nothing extra to slow her down.

She turned her upper body and saluted. "See ya'!" She revved the motor to life and was off. Her silver hair streamed behind her, and she pulled her body closer to the bike to reduce the wind resistance. Up ahead she could see the back of Yazoo and Loz's bikes, but she stayed a fair distance behind. She watched from a distance as they got onto the closed freeway, and mimicked them.

She was a lone spectator as Yazoo and Loz over took Cloud, forcing him to stay on the lower road. She took the higher. If they were forcing Cloud one way, then that meant Kadaj had gone the other.

But Kadaj was far ahead, and Liz was only matching his pace. She wasn't able to gain ground on him, but she made sure she didn't lose any.

But then the ShinRa helicopter came into view. Liz skidded to a halt. What were they doing? Kadaj disappeared into the distance, but she would have time to catch up later. She saw Cloud exit the tunnel, and then…

Her heart stopped.

Another explosion where Yazoo and Loz had been. Fireworks filled the air, and the roar of their own explosions was deafening.

She shook her head in an attempt to force the image from her mind, then revved the engine again and took off. There was no time to mourn the two deaths, for if she didn't hurry, there would be a third.

* * *

When she entered the ruins of Midgar and had finally followed Kadaj and Cloud's tracks to the old church, they were both long gone. Liz dismounted her bike, walked into the church, and surveyed the scene. Total chaos… The work of no one but Kadaj. 

She strode to a small pool that was towards the back of the church. Curious, she dipped her hand in.

"Damnit!" She pulled her hand back quickly. It had burned! The power of the Lifestream was in this pool of water. It was the long awaited cure to the Geostigma. And it could kill her. If the smallest bit had caused her that much pain, then how much would it take to unravel her delicate DNA?

She had to leave. She could feel it. Sephiroth was even closer than before. But he wasn't here yet.

The female remnant, who was probably the only remnant other than Kadaj remaining, ran from the church. She leapt onto the motorcycle, and was off the second the engine came to life.

* * *

"My reunion. I bet your just dying to watch…" 

She was too late… Liz cursed under hea breath, then stopped. She placed a hand upon her cheek gently. She... she was crying...?

Another set of tears escaped her eyes. It had taken Liz forever to find them, and now that she had there was nothing she could do.

"Kadaj!" The tears now fell freely from her eyes. She was sure that he had not heard her, but even if he had, it far too late.

"It's been a long time, Cloud." Sephiroth stood where Kadaj once had, his sword the only thing between him and Cloud's. He leapt away; landing on a building across from the one Liz had perched herself on. For a slit second he locked eyes with her, but if he recognized her, it was hard to tell. "Your Geostigma is gone… That's too bad."

"That's it…" Liz's mind was made up. Even if she would be killed, she would follow them. She would try to stop them until the act stole her very life from her.

And so she followed.

* * *

And she followed, and followed some more. Whenever she got too close though, it seemed as if Sephiroth would drive Cloud away, taking the battle as far from her as possible. 

_I'm not a child anymore! _She wanted to scream. _I'm not the little girl that you thought you had to protect! _

"Tell me what you cherish most." Sephiroth cooed, his blade in Cloud's shoulder. Cloud gripped the blade with his left hand. "Give me the pleasure of taking it away."

A sob caught in her throat, and Liz would have backed up a step if she weren't already on the edge of the building.

Cloud pulled the blade from his shoulder, and rushed Sephiroth. "I pity you. You just don't get it!" Liz looked away, eyes tightly shut against the scene she knew was about to unfold. "There's not a thing I don't cherish!" She had been right.

The people she had loved the most were all going to die.

She fell to her knees. Tears now fell from her eyes freely, and Liz didn't dare to look until she knew _he_ was gone. Rain began to fall upon her, a stinging, burning rain; it was the cure.

She jerked her eyes back up to where she could feel Cloud was. But, when her gaze returned to where it had once been, the sight she saw made her cry all the more.

Kadaj lay in Cloud's arms, but he was rapidly being absorbed into the Lifestream. She could feel the rain doing the same thing to her, but she didn't care.

It wasn't until after her brother was gone that she noticed the bigger danger.

Yazoo and Loz stood on the edge of the roof directly behind Cloud. They too were being killed slowly by the healing rain, the many pieces of Materia that they had absorbed clearly visible. The dying middle child raised his gun, preparing to shoot.

"Yazoo, no!" But even as Liz scrambled to her feet and screamed at him he pulled the trigger. The shot was meant for Cloud, but she wouldn't let that happen. She couldn't let him get injured, she owed him too much for that.

She felt the bullet rip through her shoulder. That, accompanied by the slow death the healing rain was insuring, made her fall to the ground. But not before her gaze could meet that of Cloud's.

Recognition played on his features, and then anger. She could sense the pain that he, Yazoo, and Loz were feeling right now; both physical and emotional.

When she hit the ground Liz let her eyes close. She could feel Cloud's footfalls as he thundered past her, could hear another explosion. The flames licked at her body for only a few seconds before everything faded away.

_Okay Lifestream…Bring it on. Whatever you have in store for me, I'll take it. It's probably way better than that hellhole of a planet anyway._

_

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**_Fin_**

* * *

Koinu: -sighs- And so this Fic comes to an end. Just so you know, I'm planning on making a sequal, and a prequal, for Liz's childhood, but I need ideas. If you have anything that you want to be put in the next one, be it humorous or serious, melancholy or cheerful, I will do my best to fit it into the next Fic in one way or another. And I would now like to thank everyone who has cept me going through this.

* * *

**Reviewers:**

Anonymous:

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Signed:

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Zuranh Darok

**People who favorited this Fic:**

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* * *

I would also like to thank the creators of Final Fantasy Advent Children. If you're reading this, you know who you are. 


	7. You guys are gonna hate me

Koinu: Okay everyone! It has been decided that the Amarimono legacy will continue! The next installment will be a One-Shot titled 'The Amarimono-Within the Life-Stream'. It has already been written, but I'm gonna be evil and wait to post it. lol. Don't you guys just hate me?

Oh, and thank you all for the reviews that I received! I didn't know Liz was so popular... Heh, I even dressed up like her for Crazy day at school a few weeks ago, dyed my hair silver and everything, even wore the blindfold. I'm so proud of myself 'cause I didn't run into a single thing! Yep, and my best bud was Yazoo, but when we asked one of our Final Fantasy obsessed friends, they said she looked like Sephiroth. Yeah, it was quiet entertaining.

Now, back to the FanFic, 'cause that was quiet a rant wasn't it? Well, I still need more ideas for the sequel and the prequel, though I have the basis of the prequel already set. I just need random scenes to throw in every once in a while, maybe a drunk Hojo or Vincent...

Yeah, well you know there's gonna be something for you guys to read soon, it's just a matter of time.

See ya!


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